There was nothing but lots of rest and good news for this little pair last night, after being successfully separated on Valentine's Day in North China's Hebei Province.

The 44-day-old girls, named Bao Bao and Bei Bei, are being treated at the No 1 Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University in Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital.

Zhang Yuping, director of the hospital's heart disease department, said there was more concern for the well-being of little Bei Bei at the moment, as she has inborn heart disease.

Zhang said nearly 80 per cent of newborns with the diseases die when they are about 12 months old if they do not undergo surgery to fix the problem.

Due to the procedure to separate the Siamese twins, Bei Bei's operation to combat the disease cannot be performed in the immediate future.

Her heart procedure will be carried out when she has recovered from the initial operation, Zhang added.

The twins were joined at the chest and abdomen. Their livers, ribs and midriff were almost completely linked.

The operation to separate the girls took more than three hours. The hospital performed the procedure and will care for the babies for free.

(China Daily February 16, 2004)